Casterlow-Bey v. Tacoma News Tribune

Filing 4

ORDER denying 1 Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis; plaintiff has 21 days from the date of this Order to pay the filing fee or file an amended complaint, or this matter will be dismissed; Plaintiff's Motion for Court Appointed Counsel is also DENIED; signed by Judge Ronald B. Leighton.(DN) Modified on 8/31/2017 (DN). (cc to pltf)

HONORABLE RONALD B. LEIGHTON

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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GARY CASTERLOW-BEY,

CASE NO. C17-5649RBL

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Plaintiff,
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ORDER DENYING IFP

v.
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE,

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Defendant.

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THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiff Casterlow-Bey’s Motion for Leave to

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proceed in forma pauperis, supported by his proposed complaint. Casterlow-Bey also seeks court

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appointed counsel. [Dkt. #s 1, 1-1, and 1-2].

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A district court may permit indigent litigants to proceed in forma pauperis upon

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completion of a proper affidavit of indigency. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The Court has broad

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discretion in resolving the application, but “the privilege of proceeding in forma pauperis in civil

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actions for damages should be sparingly granted.” Weller v. Dickson, 314 F.2d 598, 600 (9th Cir.

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1963), cert. denied 375 U.S. 845 (1963). Moreover, a court should “deny leave to proceed in

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forma pauperis at the outset if it appears from the face of the proposed complaint that the action

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is frivolous or without merit.” Tripati v. First Nat’l Bank & Trust, 821 F.2d 1368, 1369 (9th Cir.

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ORDER DENYING IFP - 1

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1987) (citations omitted); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). An in forma pauperis complaint

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is frivolous if “it ha[s] no arguable substance in law or fact.” Id. (citing Rizzo v. Dawson, 778

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F.2d 527, 529 (9th Cir. 1985); see also Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1228 (9th Cir. 1984).
A pro se Plaintiff’s complaint is to be construed liberally, but like any other complaint it

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must nevertheless contain factual assertions sufficient to support a facially plausible claim for

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relief. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Bell

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Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). A

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claim for relief is facially plausible when “the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the

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court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”

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Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.
Casterlow-Bey’s proposed complaint does not meet this standard. It makes no factual

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allegations against the defendant newspaper, the Tacoma News Tribune, other than to state that it

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“printed an article that was slanderous assassinated my character as a man[.]” The rest of the

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complaint is a serious of legal conclusions related to the First Amendment and its purpose.
There are no actual facts from which this court can conclude that the News Tribune did

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anything actionable to Casterlow-Bey. Who wrote the article? When? What did it say? What was

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not true about it? Why is it actionable, in this court (slander is a state law tort)? Instead, the

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complaint includes only conclusory labels and seeks $50,000,000 damages.
The Motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED. Casterlow-Bey shall file

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a proposed amended complaint addressing these deficiencies, or pay the filing fee, within 21

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days or this matter will be dismissed. Any proposed amended complaint must address the “who

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what when why and how” of the facts underlying and supporting the claim. Labels and

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conclusions will not suffice. It must also address and demonstrate this Court’s jurisdiction over

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the subject matter of the dispute. The Motion for court-appointed counsel is also DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated this 31st day of August, 2017.

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A

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Ronald B. Leighton
United States District Judge

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